Library Map of the World

Main objectives of LIAZ are: 1) To unite all persons interested and engaged in library, documentation and information science by such means as conferences, seminars, meetings and symposia, and to promote research.  2) To improve all standards of librarianship, documentation, bibliography and information work in Zambia.  3) To advise and lobby government on issues relating to library and information services in Zambia. Currently it has 150 - 200 members.  LIAZ aims to promote professional capacity development of librarians in Zambia, facilitate the provision of relevant library services, and to advocate for library legislation.

The Ministry of General Education, through Zambia Library Service (ZLS), manages seven main public libraries. The Ministry is responsible for formulating policies for provincial libraries. ZLS is a department of the Teacher Education and Specialized Services (TESS) Directorate of the Ministry of General Education. The mission of ZLS is to inculcate a culture of reading and using information for personal and national development through the provision of library and information service to the public, schools colleges and teacher resources centers. It provides library services through provincial public libraries and supports school libraries and teacher education college libraries by providing library resources and training of library staff.

The Ministry through the various city councils is responsible for ten main libraries with a number of branches. The services are decentralized and each council that has a library is independently responsible for policy formulation for those libraries under their councils.

Zambia Library Consortium  promotes Open Access in the country and builds capacities among its member organizations to set up and maintain Open Access repositories. It facilitates the access to affordable electronic resources to participating institutions.

Room to Read is a leading nonprofit for children's literacy and girls' education across Asia and Africa. In Zambia, the Room to Read is establishing, renovating and supporting school libraries as well as promoting literacy.

Lubuto Library Partners is an innovative development organization that builds the capacity of public libraries to create opportunities for equitable education and poverty reduction. Its mission is to enlighten and enrich the lives of children and youth in sub-Saharan Africa, especially those not in school and highly vulnerable. In Zambia, it manages two enduring open-access libraries whose design is inspired by traditional and contemporary social, economic and cultural patterns and which freely offer comprehensive collections of well-chosen books and technology resources. These libraries serve as safe havens and are the center for dynamic library programming offering education, psychosocial support and self-expression through reading, music, art, drama, computers, mentoring and other activities. A third library is scheduled to be opened in August, 2018

Zambian legal deposit legislation at present only covers printed publications, i.e. books, pamphlets, newspapers etc. However this Act is under review, with the view to include the non-print publications. The National Archives of Zambia responsibilities with regards to deposited materials are to preserve and facilitate lawful access to information by the general public which is kept in the special library and access to this storage facility is restricted. Access to deposited materials is granted through Library Assistants, who retrieve materials on behalf of the researchers, therefore access is only on-site and is open to researchers as well as the general public.

The law allows for basic library activities as itemized below:  The following acts do not result in copyright infringement: Fair  dealing  with  a  work  for  private  study  or  for  the  purposes  of  research done by an individual for his personal purposes, otherwise than for profit. Fair  dealing  with  a  work  for  the  purposes of  criticism  or  review,  whether  of that    work    or    any    other    work,   provided    there    is    a    sufficient acknowledgement  The  reproduction  of  a  work  by  a  library  or  archive  designated  for the purpose of making a copy of any item in the permanent collection of the library or archive- (i) in  order  to  preserve  or  replace  that  item  by  placing  the  copy  in permanent collection either in addition to or in place of the item; or (ii) in order to replace in the permanent collection of another designated library   or   archive   an   item   which   has   been   lost,   destroyed   or damage  provided that it is not reasonably practicable to purchase a copy of the item in question.

Zambia has four training institution providing LIS programmes. These include University of Zambia providing BA, MA and Phd programmes in LIS. Barotseland University provides a BA programme in LIS. Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce provides Certificate and Diploma programmes in LIS. Zambia ICT College provides a Certificate programme in LIS.

This is a peer reviewed journal published once a year. The journal includes a variety of research topics. LIAZ Journal publishes original manuscripts from both international and local scholars on various areas of LIS including knowledge management,  records management and archival administration, and information and communication technologies. Its publications include original research papers, short communication papers, concept papers, and review articles (literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses), perspective papers, and book reviews.

ZAJLIS, ISSN: 23106395, is published biannually by the Department of Library and Information Science, School of Education, University of Zambia. ZAJLIS publishes original manuscripts from both international and local scholars on various areas of LIS including knowledge management, informetrics, records management and archival administration, and information and communication technologies. Its publications include original research papers, short communication papers, concept papers, and review articles (literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses), perspective papers, and book reviews. The Journal is being transformed into an online journal this year using the Open Journal Systems (OJS). 

This takes place annually in the month of June. The purpose of National Library Week is to create public awareness on the importance of libraries by giving an opportunity to libraries, documentation/information centers to showcase their resources, facilities, events and services through different programs and events to the country. The event also provides the communities with the opportunity to find out about the wide range of services which libraries and information services offer as well as recognize the vital role they play in research and education.

The Annual General Conference takes place every third week of July. The purpose is to bring together library and information professionals to share best practices in the profession. The conference is always preceded by a pre-conference seminar where the Library and Information Association of Zambia identifies some training or discussions that are of national importance to the profession. The conference targets librarians, records officers, archivists, registry officers and any other persons providing information in an organized way.